Saturday, October 05, 2013

THE TARGET VILLAGE

The film follows Okinawan opposition to the construction of U.S.
military helipads near the eco-village of Takae, located in an
ecologically sensitive area of Yanbaru, a subtropical rainforest in the
northern part of the main island.

The US military appropriated land in Yanbaru during the postwar period
"Bayonets and Bulldozers" base expansion throughout Okinawa. The
beautiful biodiverse region, a World Heritage Site candidate, is used
by US Marines for "jungle training." Locals were forced to dress up
like Vietnamese during the Vietnam War, for target practice and other
war games.

Residents have been protesting V-22 Osprey helipad construction since the plans were announced in 2006. WWF Japan details numerous wildlife, plant life and a gentle way of life under threat.

REMEMBERING THE STORIES

Throughout my life, since
living at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota as a boy, I've been studying the history,
spirituality, and worldview of Native Americans. In particular the Lakota
people.

I am currently reading a book called "The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge"
which is the true story of a century of Lakota Sioux life - an epic journal of
cultural identity found, lost, and found again - told through the voices of a
single family: the Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

Many times over the years I've read about the massacre at Wounded Knee on the
Pine Ridge reservation on December 29, 1890. This book is taking me deeper into the story. Personal accounts give shocking reality to the events at Wounded Knee. In all 290 were slaughtered by the
US Army's 7th Cavalry, which just 14 years earlier had been boldly defeated by
Indians at the infamous Battle of the Little Bighorn. The 7th Cavalry was
heavily armed that day at Wounded Knee with newly developed Hotchkiss cannons
and Gatling guns - the massacre turned into a field test of these new weapons
technologies.

Those massacred at Wounded Knee were led by an old and dieing Chief Big
Foot. The starving Indians were attempting to move from one part of the
reservation to another to escape an enormous military mobilization intended to
put down the last ditch effort by the people to use the spiritual Ghost Dance
to hang onto their culture and traditional way of life. But even this was
considered a threat by the US government and they responded to the Ghost Dance
movement by first assassinating Sitting Bull in his log cabin on the reservation and then killing the defenseless people at Wounded Knee.

The weak, hungry, ill-clothed, and poorly armed Indian people had no chance up
against the overwhelming power of the US Army. Just like we have more
recently seen in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya the US military at Wounded Knee
killed innocent people, mostly women and children, with unrestrained violence.

The army eventually conducted an "official investigation" (notice the
similarity to current times) of Wounded Knee, initiated by the Congress.
Written by Gen. E. D. Scott, the report concluded:

"There is nothing to conceal or apologize for in
the Wounded Knee Battle - beyond the killing of a wounded buck by a hysterical
recruit. The firing was begun by the Indians and continued until they
stopped - with the one exception noted above.

"That women and children were casualties was unfortunate but unavoidable,
and most must have [been killed] from Indian bullets...The Indians at Wounded
Knee brought their own destruction as surely as any people ever did.
Their attack on the troops was as treacherous as any in the history of Indian
warfare, and that they were under a strange religious hallucination is only an
explanation, not an excuse."

The US government later awarded twenty Medals of Honor to soldiers (heroes?)
who had participated in the massacre at Wounded Knee.

Following the massacre many Indian leaders on the reservation were rounded up
and moved to Fort Sheridan, Illinois for imprisonment. On March 14, 1891,
a newspaper reported: "Buffalo Bill has secured the consent of the
government and will within a few days start for Europe with the hostile Sioux
now held at Fort Sheridan. They are to be a part of his Wild West
show."

The government essentially sold the Indians into slavery. Even then our government did the bidding of the "business" community.

FUKUSHIMA UPDATE & URGENT ACTION NEEDED

Journalist, author, activist and historian Harvey Wasserman has been
reporting on, and participating in, the nuclear free movement for
decades. In that time, by his judgment, only one other event matches the
danger to the world posed by the Cuban Missile Crisis. That event is
the ongoing nuclear disaster at Fukushima.

Haven't heard about it
in the corporate media? That's because the deadly and dying global
nuclear industry and its allies don't want you to know.

That's
why he has organized a petition drive to the UN advocating international
expert oversight of, and participation in, management of the Fukushima
crisis.

Friday, October 04, 2013

CREATING THE MIND COLONIZATION CULTURE

Introducing the series "The Century of the Self" which is about how those in power have used Freud's theories to try and control the
dangerous crowd in an age of mass democracy. Sigmund Freud, the founder of
psychoanalysis, changed the perception of the human mind and its workings
profoundly.

His influence on the 20th century is widely regarded as massive. The
documentary describes the impact of Freud's theories on the perception of the
human mind, and the ways public relations agencies and politicians have used
this during the last 100 years for their engineering of consent. Among
the main characters are Freud himself and his nephew Edward Bernays, who was the
first to use psychological techniques in advertising. He is often seen as the
father of the public relations industry.

Freud's daughter Anna Freud, a pioneer of child psychology, is mentioned in
the second part, as well as Wilhelm Reich, one of the main opponents of Freud's
theories. Along these general themes, The Century of the Self asks
deeper questions about the roots and methods of modern consumerism,
representative democracy and its implications. It also questions the modern way
we see ourselves, the attitude to fashion and superficiality.

Happiness Machines. Part one documents the story of the
relationship between Sigmund Freud and his American nephew, Edward Bernays who
invented Public Relations in the 1920s, being the first person to take
Freud's ideas to manipulate the masses.

The Engineering of Consent. Part two explores how those in
power in post-war America used Freud's ideas about the unconscious mind to try
and control the masses. Politicians and planners came to believe Freud's
underlying premise that deep within all human beings were dangerous and
irrational desires.

There is a Policeman Inside All of Our Heads, He Must Be
Destroyed. In the 1960s, a radical group of psychotherapists challenged
the influence of Freudian ideas, which lead to the creation of a new political
movement that sought to create new people, free of the psychological
conformity that had been implanted in people's minds by business and
politics.

Eight People Sipping Wine In Kettering. This episode
explains how politicians turned to the same techniques used by business in order
to read and manipulate the inner desires of the masses. Both New Labor with Tony
Blair and the Democrats led by Bill Clinton, used the focus group which had been
invented by psychoanalysts in order to regain power.

Asheville, North Carolina (Oct 8) Screening of
documentary film The Ghosts of Jeju putting in context the pivot
to Asia-Pacific and how US space domination is used to direct all Pentagon
operations. Ken Ashe (VFP) will speak on his trip to Jeju Island.7:00 p.m. Lord Auditorium, Pack Memorial
Library. Sponsoring groups New South Network of War Resisters, WNC PSR, members
of WILPF Disarmament Task Force.newsouthnetwork@gmail.com

Fort
Mead, Maryland (Oct 5) The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore will vigil
at the National Security Agency (NSA) at noon.Contact Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore at mobuszewski@verizon.netor 410-366-1637

Fylingdales,
England (Oct 5) North York Moors walk/protest/vigil at U.S. Star Wars
radar facility meets at noon at the Hole of Horcum car park on A169.For more details and transport
arrangementsinfo@yorkshirecnd.org.uk

Hendersonville,
North Carolina (Oct 7)Presentation to Four Seasons Toastmasters on space issuesstandienst@morrisbb.net

Indore,
India (Oct 4-6) International Conference on Gandhi, Disarmament
& Development that will feature Abolition of Nuclear Weapons
and Prevention of an Arms Race in the Outer Space issues.Global Network convener Dave Webb (UK)
among speakers.(Indian Organizing
Committee will assume the local cost of accommodation and food.)jnrao193636@gmail.com

Kaua`i,
Hawai`i(Oct 25) The Kaua`i
Alliance for Peace and Social Justice will be showing The Ghosts of Jeju,
coinciding with Keep Space for Peace Week protests.It will be shown at 6:30 pm at the
Kapa`a Library. koikoi1@hawaii.rr.com

King
of Prussia/Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (Oct 12)Protest at Lockheed Martin, #1 war
profiteer, Drone war technology manufacturer (drone aircraft, Hellfire
missiles, command satellites). We Will Not Be Silent...Lockheed Martin is
a making a killing! Mall & Goddard Boulevards. For more information:
Brandywine Peace Community, 610-544-1818 brandywine@juno.com

Lincoln,
England (Oct
7) Magistrates’ Court. Trial of the Waddington 6 begins.The 6 entered the
RAF base in June and have been assured that their arguments will be
listened to in full and they want to use the trial as an opportunity to
get as much media coverage as possible for ‘Putting Drones on Trial’. They
will be using the recently published paper by Public Interest Lawyers
about the illegality of drones. Supporters welcome. More details from Drone Campaign Network

London,
England (Oct
4) Screening of documentary film The
Ghosts of Jeju at Brunei Gallery B102, SOAS University of London,
5:30 pm493012@soas.ac.uk

Maine
Drone Peace Walk (Oct 10-19) Peace walk led by Nipponzan Myohoji from
Limestone to Bath, Maine called Preserve our Privacy: No Drone
Spying in Maine. The walk will protest drone surveillance and the
possible testing of weaponized drones in Maine. Sponsored by Maine
Campaign to Bring Our War $$ Home and Maine VFP.globalnet@mindspring.com

New York City, New York (Oct 7)Stand Against War
and for Our Rights. On the 12th anniversary of the invasion and
occupation of Afghanistan, we will gather to discuss our right to assemble
peacefully, our opposition to war, and our right to remember. Begins at 5:00
pm at Vietnam Veterans Memorial Plaza, 55 Water Street. www.stopthesewars.org

Sunnyvale,
California
(Oct 25) Weekly vigil at Lockheed-Martin headquarters dedicated to Keep
Space for Peace. This vigil is held 4th Friday of the month for
years.Lockheed-Martin is a major
aerospace weapons, drones and missile manufacturing facility. Noon to 1:00
pm on corner of Mathilda and Java (off 101 by car, or one block from the
Lockheed-Martin light rail stop on the Winchester/ Mountain View line) Pgycoleman@aol.com

Tucson,
Arizona (Oct 8) Peace vigil from 6:30 - 7:30 am at Raytheon Missile
Systems, Hermans Road entrance to the plant (3rd traffic light south of
Valencia on Nogales Highway, the extension of South 6th Avenue). Join the
Raytheon Peacemakers as we demonstrate against war and those who profit
from it.nukeresister@igc.org

Weld
County, Colorado (Oct 12) Vigil at Minuteman III missile silo N-8 in
Weld County. The N-8 silo houses one of 49 h-bomb armed missiles on
24/7 alert in Colorado, part of the total fleet of 450 MM III missiles in
the US, noon to 1:00 pmbill.sulzman@gmail.com

Order
the new documentary video The Ghosts of Jeju that puts the
Navy base struggle on Jeju Island in context of US military pivot to
Asia-Pacific and illustrates how US space domination is used to direct all
Pentagon operations. http://www.theghostsofjeju.net/

OUR MOTHER EARTH FROM SPACE

As we move into Keep Space for Peace Week let's get an overview of what it means to be living on our little Mother Earth spaceship.

Our consciousness must evolve so that we see that all life on Earth - all the people, the animals, the plant life, the water, air - is sacred and spiritually connected. There are no national borders on our planet.

As we move into space we must think about what kind of seed we take with us from our planet. A good seed or a bad seed?

Do we want to take the seed of greed, war and violence with us into the heavens?

As we learn to love our Mother Earth - to feel in unity with all life forms - then we are free to imagine our place in the cosmos in a new way.

WHO CAN WE TRUST?

I went to Bath City Hall last night to attend another city council workshop on the request by General Dynamics Corporation (GD) for a tax break (called TIF) over the next 25 years. GD owns Bath Iron Works (BIW) here in the city where destroyers for the Navy are built.

Since the late 1990's BIW has received $197 million in tax cuts from the state and the city of Bath. During that time their employment has dropped from about 8,000 to below 5,500 today. They've used alot of the funds to help mechanize the operation thus reducing the need for workers while profits grow.

The workshop was led off by BIW's lawyer (Jon Fitzgerald) on this TIF request. He went on the offensive and claimed that those who were suggesting this was "corporate welfare" were off base. Then he suggested that any comments about the annual executive compensation of GD's top CEO is also out of bounds. Then he talked about how BIW has paid $100 million in local taxes over these years.

Three of us from the local community stood up to speak during the public comment period of the workshop. In the past two workshops public comments were not allowed. Both of those sessions were held after 9:00 pm, last time I was the only person from the public in the room. This time the workshop was held at 6:30 pm. So we are making some progress here.

When I spoke I challenged Mr. Fitzgerald's claim that the CEO executive compensation issue was not relevant. I said, "I want to remind everyone that last year the top CEO at
General Dynamics was paid $18 million in compensation.Compare that with the annual municipal
budget of Bath – about $15 million.So
one guy at General Dynamics got paid more than our entire city budget – yet
General Dynamics says they need more money from local taxpayers in order to
stay competitive. I say tell them to cut executive compensation first, before
coming to the citizens of Bath for another hand out. Our city should request that General Dynamics open their
books for public scrutiny if they want to claim they need more corporate
welfare."

That last line I got from a BIW worker who recently called me. I'd only just met him and we'd never spoken before about this TIF issue. He told me that a recent Op-Ed I wrote for a local paper hung in his shop for three weeks taped to the wall. He told me next time I spoke at city hall that I should ask to see their corporate ledgers. So I did.

I also told the city council last night that, "When we gathered signatures opposing this TIF at the polls
during our recent special state senate election we got 370 signatures.Many BIW workers were eager to sign the
petition.Now why would scores of BIW
workers sign the petition?We heard
them repeatedly say that the workers are being squeezed by General
Dynamics.One woman said she is now
doing the job of three workers and that wages are frozen for the next year or
more."

That day we had our table at the polls collecting signatures and we taped a large sign to the front of the table that read "TIF of the Iceberg". We got that slogan from another worker at BIW.

I've heard that Mr. Fitzgerald has been asking some folks if they know that I am a peacenik kind of guy - of course making the point that they might not want to be publicly associated with such a scruffy character. But if they think this campaign is coming from me then BIW and GD are making a big mistake. The frustration and anxiety about another round of corporate welfare for BIW is coming from the community. I am just helping to give voice for people who feel they can't speak out for obvious reasons - including many BIW workers.

Last night our third speaker asked the city council which side their expert TIF lawyer, hired to protect the city's interests, was actually working for. The lawyer was speaking in legal/technical mumbo-jumbo and virtually no one understood her evasive words. That question summed up this whole TIF movement in Bath - who can we trust to really protect the people from the big corporate interests?

The next step is for our growing local citizens committee to organize a community forum in early-November on this TIF question. We'd hold it at city hall and last night invited the city council to attend. Two members of the council spoke in favor of such an event.

THE WELSH DRAGONS ARE BACK

There is a big fight going on in the UK over Britain's Trident nuclear submarine replacement program. The subs are based at Faslane, Scotland and people in that nation want them out. Growing activism across the UK is driving debate about whether or not the UK needs the "nuclear option" and how they can afford to waste their precious resources on such insanity.

Among those who are cranking up the action is the peace movement in Wales (Cymru).

Here is a report from today's event:

Main gate of Nuclear Weapons Factory blockaded by Welsh Dragons!

October 3 - From 7:00 am 50 activists from Wales have been blockading the Main Gate of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Burghfield (Southeast England). Campaigners are calling for Trident to be scrapped and plans to replace it to be abandoned. Activists from across Wales including from Knighton, Cardiff, Builth, Llandeilo and Swansea are accompanied by three huge red dragons and are 'locked on' with chains and pipes across the main entrance.

Blockaders have sent comments from the blockade:

Ray Davies (Bedwas, Caerffili) says:

"We have come from our Welsh Valleys to tell the world that we will never give up the struggle to free our beautiful world from the dangers and fear of nuclear weapons. We are blockading here at AWE Burghfield, where the Trident warheads are made, for our children and for all our future generations."

Marie Walsh (Blackwood, Gwent):

"Our three Welsh dragons, banners and 'Mad Trident' tea party have been getting lots of support from cars passing on the road where we are blocking the lane to the AWE Burghfield Main Gate. The message is Vote NO to Nuclear!"

Food not Bombs Cardiff:

"We believe the government should not spend any more money on bombs and war, but start spending more money on feeding hungry people."

Angie Zelter (Knighton):

"We need co-operation, not war, to deal with climate change and to enable everyone on the planet to live in security and health."

Jill Gough (CND Cymru National Secretary):

"The total cost of a
replacement for Trident would be over £100 billion. Whatever the cost,
nuclear weapons would be immoral, illegal and obscene; the current cuts
to jobs, housing, hospitals, schools and other public services only serve to highlight the skewed values of our governments."

The blockaders expect to end their blockade this afternoon.

AWE Burghfield is situated between Aldermaston and Reading in Berkshire. It is responsible for the complex final assembly and maintenance of the warheads while in service, as well as their decommissioning.

The protest will be yet another Welsh contribution to current 'AWE Action' events.

CND Cymru and other peace organisations are strongly supported in Wales, a country well known for its history of radical movements and pacifism. Over centuries many have worked for international understanding and peaceful resolution of conflict - while London-based governments have built up armaments and carried on with war-building business as usual. Nuclear weapons are no defence. They not only undermine the common wish for a safe society and future for our children and grandchildren, waste scarce resources, destabilise the world and increase international suspicion and insecurity, they are unusable without destroying all life on earth.

While many areas of Wales continue to be impoverished, succeeding Westminster governments have failed to seriously consider scrapping the Trident nuclear weapons system, not even as a way of saving resources for the people who need them. Such a move would straight away save over £2bn per year currently spent on its maintenance. The government is now planning to waste £100bn on building and running another obscene replacement nuclear weapons system.

MESSAGE FROM MR. BLACK

When A Solution Comes

Written by: Ray DaviesLyrics:
Sung by Mr. Black in an attic somewhere in suburbia

When a solution comes,
It's gonna breathe right down on everyone.
When a solution comes
It's gonna cover up the clouds
And eclipse the sun
And black out a pale blue sky,
And everybody's gonna be terrified,
Because they're all going to feel the bite
And there's going to be a revolution
When a solution comes.
It won't take sides with anyone
Regardless of race or creed,
The whole wide world is gonna feel the squeeze.
The red, black, yellow and white
And even the Arabs and the Israelites
They're all going to feel the bite
And there's going to be a revolution.
I've been searching a long, long time,
Looking for a final solution
Searching here, searching there,
Searching everywhere.
Now my day has finally come
It's time to shout to everyone
I have waited a long, long time,
Biding my time and waiting on the sidelines
Watching it all go wrong.
Witnessing the disintegration,
Rubbing my hands in anticipation.
Everybody's searching so desperately,
They've got to run to someone
And that someone's going to be me.
Yeah, I'm gonna change the world,
I'm going to use a little manipulation.
I'm going to build a new civilisation.

Wednesday, October 02, 2013

PLANTING THE SEEDS FOR CORPORATE/MILITARY TAKEOVER

One could speculate that the corporate backed forces creating the havoc in Washington DC have a larger goal in mind.

It should be remembered that the infamous Koch brothers, who today fund many of the extreme right-wing organizations in this country, come from John Birch Society stock. Their father, Fred Koch, helped found the John Birch Society in the late
1950s and his rabid anti-communism helped fuel the Cold
War. His sons continue to galvanize hundreds of thousands of people into supporting the Kochs’ narrow agenda of cutting
corporate taxes and avoiding regulations to the ruin of our economy and our democracy.

By creating gridlock and breakdown in Washington the forces of American-style fascism are likely to call for a blend of military and corporate takeover of the nation. Just like we currently see in Detroit, where the corporate Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) dictatorship runs the city, "Mr. Big's plan" to solve our nation's woes very well could become the "final solution" for a restive public that has been taught to hate "big government" during the last 30 years. The mission of the bankruptcy lawyer who has been put in charge of Detroit is to strip that once great city of its assets
and privatize its services for the benefit of Wall Street banks.

The American people are being squeezed and shaken down by the corporate hustlers who now run this nation. The superfluous populations in this country (no longer needed because of mechanization, computerization, robotics, and out-sourcing of jobs) are going to be left to die an early death. Some might call it genocide, others would call it good business.

The open question is which way will the public turn? Will they take the "easy" solutions offered by the three-piece suited fascism (described years ago by Bertram Gross in his book Friendly Fascism) or will they stand in resistance to the hollowing out of the country by the corporate forces of greed? Will the people support fascism or will they move toward our own version of socialism that declares we have a human right to health care, clean air and water, and the resources of our planet?

We are quickly moving toward finding out the answer to these fundamental questions. Put your ear to the railroad tracks and hear the train coming......

JILL STEIN ON THE SHUTDOWN

The American public, not President Obama, is the force that can have the
most impact on how Washington pulls out of its current acrimony, former
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein told RT on Wednesday.

"I
think it's really the American people who need to kick in here... we
need to kick in to say, 'Let's stop this government-by-extortion,'"
Stein, the most successful female presidential candidate in US history,
said.

US MILITARY ANGERS SICILIAN PEOPLE

Idyllic Italian town protests US high-tech base

Palermo, Italy
- Hundreds of letters have been sent to US President Barack Obama from a
tiny school in the Sicilian town of Niscemi, asking him to halt the
construction of the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), a next generation military satellite communication facility.

"I couldn’t believe that the US has installed
all these antennas," said Giuseppe Maida, a teacher at the local
institute. And now the US is at war, and the war was declared by a group
of mothers, who today are marching in the streets of Palermo.

The MUOS is to be built on the Niscemi US Naval
Radio Transmitter Facility (NRTF) base, where 44 antennas have been
operating since 1991, 21 of which, according to US military documents,
are still active today.

Dressed in white, "Mothers against MUOS", as they call themselves, held the banner, "Our children are not your guinea pigs."

Over the past several months, protesters have held rallies and blocked trucks carrying construction materials into the base.

"Our children are worried, they ask me what are
those antennas," said Concetta Gualato, 45, who is their unofficial
spokesperson. "I live 800 metres away from the facility, and I don’t
want them to get sick." Stephen Anderson, a spokesperson for the US
embassy, said those concerns are unfounded. "In the US we have similar
systems that are located, in fact, closer to population centres and have
had no reported negative health or environmental impacts on the
communities," he said.

But Niscemi’s citizens are not satisfied with
their explanations and are worried of the consequences of extended
exposure to electromagnetic fields for the human body.

About 2,000 protestors gathered recently in Palermo, accusing Rosario Crocetta, President of Sicily, of betraying his own people by revoking the ban on the construction.

GROWING POLICE BRUTALITY

Almost daily I see reports, photos, and videos of growing police brutality across the US. The video is one of the worst yet.

This kind of thing happens(ed) regularly in the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan where the US military has free reign over the public. Then these soldiers come home and many of them get jobs working for local police departments or jails/prisons. They bring the brutality of the war zone with them.

This video is disgusting but a true sign of the times. This is how people of color, and increasingly low-income whites too, are being treated by a highly militarized police force. Native Americans, blacks, and Hispanics have been on the receiving end of this brutality for hundreds of years.

The authorities and the courts rarely bring real justice in these cases. Police often get away with this kind of treatment which only encourages them to do it again.

The talk of American "exceptionalism" is belied by videos like this one. The reality is that America has a dark and brutal side - most of the rest of the world understands that already. The American people are increasingly witnessing it first-hand.

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

BAN DRONE SURVEILLANCE & KILLING

Manhattan(New York) - As Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spoke out against drone strikes to
the UN General Assembly, the Granny Peace Brigade took the fight to the
streets.

The Granny Peace Brigade, which has been protesting U.S. involvement in wars
since 2005, teamed with Nick Mottern of knowdrones.com to help raise awareness in
an eye-catching way near Rockefeller Center.

JUST A BIT CONFUSED ABOUT HEALTH CARE

And now below is a debate between some folks who know something about this new health care morass. It would be best if we just went to a simpler system that took out the greedy insurance corporations. We need Medicare for all.

THE TRUTH ABOUT KILLING OF JFK

We are fast approaching November 22, 2013, the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

At
this critical moment, we are prepared to create the definitive graphic
adaptation about JFK, his legacy, and the reasons behind his
assassination. It is a powerful and transforming story.

In his book, JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters,
author James W. Douglass tells the story of how John F. Kennedy
gradually turned from being a Cold Warrior toward trying to make peace
with “the enemy”. With the JFK Records Act triggering the
declassification of hundreds of thousands of documents, we now have
overwhelming evidence that Kennedy’s policies so upset the military
industrial complex that he was branded a traitor and marked for
assassination.

US SPIRITUAL LEADERS ON JEJU ISLAND

Nipponzan Myohoji buddhist monk Gilberto Perez (left) and Jesuit Father Bix (right) join the dance at the front gate of Jeju Island Navy base construction site. Both men are from Washington state in the US

A big event was held in Gangjeong village on Jeju Island, South Korea by the Catholic community during this past weekend. It was a celebration of two years of active Catholic resistance at the base.

Jeju Island Bishop Kang has been a tremendous supporter of the Navy base resistance effort and said about the weekend protest: "Nation exists to serve peace... [we] cannot achieve peace through war."

Two spiritual leaders from the US have recently gone to Jeju to stand in solidarity with the villagers and their supporters. Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist monk Gilberto Perez and Jesuit Father Bix are from Washington state and made the journey together to Jeju.

In recent days 88 year-old Father Bix wrote:

You would see and feel the holiness of this
island; after returning from the regular daily practice of 100 bows
(stand-kneel-deep bow) in front of a main gate of the construction site--with a
view of the great sea beyond the site. The woman who started this deep bowing
practice two years ago was there and today she was assisted by Gilberto and I,
two Korean Notre Dame Sisters, a young woman from the US and two Korean women
from Jeju. One of the ND Sisters said to me, “Your country has
done this to us”!

This is the most alive and vibrant faith community I've ever experienced. Daily
Eucharist is the foundation of the ongoing acts of resistance which also occur
each day. Everyday priests, nuns and villagers sit in chairs blocking the main
gate while the sung Eucharist up the road is being broadcast. After the Mass and
rosary there is very vibrant Korean dance that knocks your socks off and fills
you with joy. After this there is lively song. This is followed by Korean
lunch---kim chi style- that is held In the
community meal house that has free and open meals every day.

The atmosphere is
light and alive with communication. At 7AM the day starts with a village lady
who leads us in 100 deep down on your knees bows in front of the gate. Different
blocking actions take place in the afternoon. Each order of nuns sends two nuns
every week to vigil and resist. They stay in a guest house that is rented by the
diocese. Four Jesuits are assigned to full time resistance work. The bishop is
fabulous and calls villagers to resistance as well as assigning priests to work
for peace.

Gilberto Perez also wrote:

Na Mu Myo Ho
Ren Ge Kyo,

We all continue to pray. Yesterday and today
over 75 Catholic nuns, 45 Jesuits and even the Bishop performed Sunday Mass.
With over 300 local peoples and big dinner party at the village center. Reminds
me of Cuba and Mexico where everyone in town is invited. Many of the nuns,
priests and Bishop came from Seoul. Yes, Koreans are very passionate about peace
and prayers, many studied in Berkeley, Boston and even the Philippines too. Two
young Americans are here but not able to block gate, as they want to return to
Korea. We sit in front of gate while Mass is said and police carry us off to let
trucks and cars on/off the base and then we just return again. Police are thus
far been pretty gentle. They remove us and lots of filming while this is
performed, about five time each day.

Fr. Bix
becomes like a young teenager when he is resisting the empire and very funny and
happy with all...A baby Buddha.

Monday, September 30, 2013

PENTAGON PROPAGANDA

The Department of Defense (Endless War) has turned its huge public affairs program into an offensive propaganda campaign being run by the same contractors that spy on the world through the intelligence agencies, according to a DCBureau-National Security News Service (NSNS) investigation.

Military and foreign policy has been privatized in the US. The Pentagon's #1 job is to serve as the primary resource extraction service for corporate globalization. We've got to nationalize military production and convert it to sustainable technology production. Wind turbines, rail systems, solar and other such production must replace the weapons systems that are now the products of endless war. Convert and survive.

Turn the Pentagon into the Natural Guard and deal with the coming ravages of climate change.

The
Department of Defense has turned its huge public affairs program into
an offensive propaganda campaign being run by the same contractors that
spy on the world through the intelligence agencies, according to a
DCBureau-National Security News Service (NSNS) investigation. - See more
at:
http://www.dcbureau.org/201309309080/national-security-news-service/the-selling-of-the-pentagon-2013.html#sthash.cxQHf12d.dpuf

The
Department of Defense has turned its huge public affairs program into
an offensive propaganda campaign being run by the same contractors that
spy on the world through the intelligence agencies, according to a
DCBureau-National Security News Service (NSNS) investigation. - See more
at:
http://www.dcbureau.org/201309309080/national-security-news-service/the-selling-of-the-pentagon-2013.html#sthash.cxQHf12d.dpuf

PAYING FOR YOUR OWN SURVEILLANCE

MILITARY SPACE PLANE

Air Force mini-shuttle X-37B: The U.S. Air Force is preparing to consolidate "mysterious mini-shuttle" operations at Kennedy Space Center
or Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Analysts contend the military space plane is part of the Pentagon's effort to develop
the capability to strike anywhere in the world with a conventional
warhead in less than an hour - known as Prompt Global Strike.

The development of these new space planes is one reason that the Obama
administration and the Pentagon are eager to reduce nuclear weapons
stockpiles in Russia and China in the years to come. As key elements in
the growing U.S. first-strike program, they become even more effective
if the U.S. can get its potential rivals to reduce their nuclear
retaliatory capability giving the Pentagon an ever greater chance of
pulling off a successful decapitating attack.

The Washington Times has previously reported, "The actual expense [of the X-37]
is hidden in the Pentagon's 'black,' or classified, budget - is likely
to cost more than $1 billion. The launch vehicle alone - a two-stage,
liquid-propelled Atlas V rocket - costs as much as $200 million. Ten
years of development on the plane - as the project was shuffled from
NASA to DARPA and finally to its current institutional home in the Air
Force - is likely to have cost hundreds of millions of dollars more."

TIME FOR NEW SYSTEM

You might be surprised to learn that 42% of Americans believe that capitalism isn't working out so well for us? According to a Brookings Institution’s July survey,
more than a quarter of Americans say capitalism is working “not too
well” while 16% say capitalism is working “not at all well.” The key point is that there is no democracy in capitalism. The people, the workers, have virtually no say in decision making at the workplace nor in the halls of government. The economic system and the political system are rigged and the public is getting tired of it. These numbers show that the public is ready to talk about a different kind of system.